Obama stumps at state fairgrounds in Indy

INDIANAPOLIS – Barack Obama said he isn’t fooled by John McCain.

Obama won’t be hoodwinked. Or bamboozled.

He isn’t buying what McCain is trying to sell. And he doesn’t want anyone to buy it either.

The Democratic presidential nominee criticized McCain’s health care, tax and economic policies Wednesday during a rally in Indianapolis.

Obama presented a message of reinventing the American dream at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. He spoke less than a day after his second presidential debate with McCain in Nashville, Tenn.

Much of Obama’s time was spent trying to inspire people to, in his words, “believe” again after the recent economic problems, which saw the Dow Jones industrial average plummet more than 1,500 points during the last two weeks.

“The dream that so many generations have fought for feels like it’s slowly slipping away,” he said.

Obama stressed that no one in America is exempt from the financial problems.
“If we learned anything from this economic crisis, it’s that we’re all connected,” the Illinois senator said. “We’re all in this together. We will rise or fall as one nation, as one people.”

Obama said the country has been through tough times in previous generations as well. He said the character of a generation is determined by what they do in the face of adversity.

“This is a nation that’s faced war and depression, great challenges and great threats,” he said. “And in each and every moment, we have risen to meet these challenges, not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans, with resolve, with confidence, with that fundamental belief that here in America our destiny is not written for us, it’s written by us.”

Obama was introduced by Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and the two were on stage together.

Attendees briefly saw what could have been a Democratic ticket, as Bayh was one of a few people on Obama’s short list for vice-presidential nominee.

Even without Bayh on his ticket, Obama is pushing to make Indiana blue for the first time since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

New figures released Wednesday by the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project show Obama has recently spent more than three times as much on advertising than McCain in Indiana.

Wednesday marked the sixth time Obama has been to Indiana since its primary in early May. He came two weeks after Democratic vice-residential nominee Joe Biden spoke in southern Indiana.

McCain hasn’t visited the state since July 1.

Thousands of supporters sat through dreary weather in the grandstands to see the Illinois senator.

Many of those in attendance were young people, and some even came from Bloomington to see Obama.

IU freshmen Alex McRae, Adam Jennison, Megan Wagner and Melissa Bullinger left Bloomington at about 10 a.m. to see Obama speak.

Jennison is from Washington, D.C., and he said he is glad to be somewhere his vote matters.

“You don’t realize how much every single vote really counts,” Jennison said. “I realize how important it is to vote in Indiana because my vote actually counts.”

Wagner said students have supported Obama because they see themselves in him.
She said students are looking for a candidate that can keep the world – and markets – stable in the future.

“I don’t know if I can get a student loan,” Wagner said. “We need someone to take control, not just let things go the way they are.”

While Obama’s youth movement has garnered a lot of attention, many question if he is hedging his win on the turnout of the youth vote.

The four believed that young people’s political support is a trend that will carry over to Election Day. Jennison said students will peer-pressure each other to vote.

“There’s so much emphasis to do it,” he said. “Everyone I met will talk about it. People will be like ‘Have you voted yet?’”

Students said they were impressed by Obama’s message of hope, which he used to reenergize people about the future.

“I’m here today to tell you that there are better days ahead,” Obama said. “I know these times are tough, and I know many of you are anxious about the future, but this isn’t the time to fear or quit. This is the time for resolve and steady leadership.”
He repeatedly connected McCain to President Bush.

“We can’t afford four more years of no regulation on Wall Street, where Washington wasn’t paying attention, and CEOs were getting golden parachutes and multi-million dollar bonuses while their workers are suffering and their investors are getting the shaft.”

Obama received one of his biggest cheers at the end of his speech, when he spoke about the American dream of making yourself out of nothing. He said that in America anyone – even a poor multiracial boy born in Hawaii – can be a presidential nominee.

“That’s the story of America. That’s who we are,” Obama said. “That’s what this election’s all about. And Indiana, if you will stand with me, if you will work with me ... we will win this general election, and you and I together will change the country and change the world.”